This invention relates generally to a wheel balancing device, and more particularly to an improved construction and arrangement for adhesive wheel balancing weights.
It is extremely difficult to produce a pneumatic tire and an associated rim which are perfectly in balance when combined and rotated. Therefore, it has been known to apply a counterbalancing weight to the wheel or rim to compensate for the rotational imbalance of the pneumatic tire and rim assembly. Conventionally, these counterbalancing weights have included lead weights molded around a steel clip which in turn is attached to a flange of the rim or wheel. Another method of attaching one or more lead weights to a rim of a wheel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,409, which discloses a plurality of preformed weights secured upon an elongate tape having an adhesive backing to attach the weights to the rim of the wheel. A backing strip is removably attached to the adhesive backing of the tape to protect the tape. This backing strip must be removed prior to installation of the lead weights onto a rim of a wheel. However, it is difficult to remove the backing strip from the tape because the surface area of the backing strip is coextensive with the surface area of the tape, thereby making it extremely difficult to initially separate the backing strip from the tape.
A wheel balancing device is provided having a plurality of wheel balancing weights attached to a top surface of an elongate tape, and a backing strip removably attached to and protecting an adhesive layer on the bottom surface of the tape, with the backing strip having a width greater than that of the tape to facilitate removing the backing strip from the tape prior to installation of the wheel weights onto a rim of a wheel. The greater width of the backing strip as compared to the tape facilitates removal of the backing strip from the tape by a user who may simply grab a portion of the backing strip which extends beyond the tape to peel away the backing strip. Preferably, the plurality of wheel balancing weights are connected in end-to-end relationship on the tape and are preformed of a generally uniform size and weight. Any number of the plurality of wheel balancing weights may be separated from the remainder of the weights by merely severing the tape and backing strip and breaking any living hinge or other means of interconnection, if any, between the last chosen weight and the remainder of the weights to provide a discreet unit of wheel balancing weights having the desired total or combined weight. After separating the desired number of wheel balancing weights from the remainder of the weights on the tape, the backing strip is removed from the tape and the adhesive bottom surface of the tape is secured to the rim of the wheel at the desired location to rotationally balance the wheel.
Objects, features and advantages of this invention include providing a wheel balancing device which provides a plurality of preformed wheel balancing weights which are easily separable into discreet units of varying total weight as desired, facilitates installation of the wheel balancing weights onto a wheel by providing a backing strip which is easy to separate from the tape, and is durable, of relatively simple design and economical manufacture and assembly.